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St. Vrain Valley School District announces new books for middle, high language arts

School board approves principals' hirings

By Victoria A.F. Camron

Times-Call staff writer

Posted:
05/14/2014 09:51:03 PM MDT

Updated:
05/14/2014 09:52:00 PM MDT

The St. Vrain Valley School District Board of Education on Wednesday approved a new language arts textbook series that includes digital textbooks for middle and high schools.

It's the first time in 11 years that the district has adopted new language arts textbooks for secondary students, said assistant superintendent Tori Teague.

The district is purchasing a seven-year contract to use Collections from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which select middle school and high school teachers tried out this year. Based on projected enrollment, the cost is expected to be $678,494 in 2014-15, including professional development for teachers.

The school board also approved the purchase of OverDrive, a digital program that allows teachers to choose supplemental articles for different lessons. That 10-year contract for is estimated to cost $661,000.

Kellie Clark, a seventh-grade teacher at Timberline K-8 School, said Collections includes more rigorous reading selections and more writing assignments.

The students love the program because they can electronically highlight the text and make notes, she said. English-language-learning students can click on vocabulary words to learn definitions, and students can choose to have the computer read the text to them.

On the writing side, students must cite evidence from their readings to complete their assignments, Clark said.

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School board members also approved the hiring of several administrators.

Centennial Elementary School's new principal will be Shirley Jirik, the district's coordinator for Response to Intervention. She previously was the RTI coordinator and a special education teacher in the Windsor School District.

Jirik has a master's degree in special education and a doctorate in K-12 educational leadership, both from the University of Northern Colorado. She will earn $89,778, according to David Burnison, assistant superintendent of human resources.

Allen Golden will be the new assistant principal at Olde Columbine High School. He has a bachelor's degree in history and a master's degree in secondary education, both from Adams State College, and is earning a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of Denver.

He is a counselor and director of the alternative school at Cedaredge High School in Cedaredge. He will earn $83,103, according to Burnison.

The district has hired Brendon Schwirtz to be the new associate principal at Timberline. Schwirtz earned bachelor's and master's degrees in education from the University of Minnesota. He has been a teacher, dean of students and an assistant principal; for the past two years, he has been the principal of Willow Lane Elementary School in White Bear Lake, Minn.

Schwirtz's salary will be $90,329, Burnison reported.

The school board also formally approved the hiring of three other administrators whose positions have previously been announced: Eric Rauschkolb, principal at Niwot High, who will earn $115,485; Kathi Jo Walder, principal at Indian Peaks Elementary, $97,896; and Lauren Eker, principal at Erie Elementary, $89,867.

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